Productivity Can Be Over-Rated

We’ve all become so geared toward doing more, achieving more, producing more that we forget to be honest with ourselves about what we really need, especially if what we need has changed.

It wasn’t that long ago that productivity was all the rage. Everyone declared themselves an expert on how to get more work done every day. You’re not serious about achieving your dreams if you’re not working every possible minute of every day, they insisted.

Writers have all heard the usual productivity stand-bys: You must write every day! You must write thousands of words at a time! You must publish a book every two to three months! You must write in the genres that sell the most books! You must, you must, you must!

Heavens.

Goals For Productivity Have Changed

I’m glad to see that the productivity gurus have started to evaporate into the ether, which is exactly where they belong. These days you see posts about setting mini-goals or reasonable goals. That’s more like it. After all, how can some stranger know my life, my responsibilities, my choices, or the out-of-my-control influences I’m dealing with on any given day?

Yes, if we have a dream that we want to achieve then we need to set time aside to work toward that dream. If you want to write a book, then you need to work toward writing that book. But setting small, achievable goals should be our priority.

We should not be working all day every day without a minute to spare for anything else. Feeling like we have to maximize the amount of work we get done in a certain amount of time only adds more stress to our already pushed-to-the-limit lives.

And where is there room for the curveballs that life likes to throw at us? We’ve all been dealt many curveballs by COVID. Some of us have been ill, some of us have lost loved ones, and some of us had our jobs taken away or changed.

Sometimes Life Throws Us Curveballs

In addition to pandemic problems, I had a wonky start to 2022. I discovered that I’m losing whatever was left of my hearing. I’ve never had much hearing in my right ear, and I had a moderate loss in my left ear. Now, the hearing in my right ear has flatlined and my left ear has deteriorated to a moderately severe or severe loss, depending on which tones I could make out during my hearing test.

According to my audiologist, “We still have a few tones to work with.” Not the most encouraging words I’ve ever heard. When I saw one of the top ENTs in the Las Vegas area, I asked him what happens when I can’t hear well enough to function in the world. In fact, I’m very nearly at that point now. His answer was a big old shrug.

I shrug at you, sir. I shrug at you.

I mention this not for sympathy’s sake. As my favorite cook Mrs. Patmore says, “Sympathy butters no parsnips.” I’m sharing this as a way of saying that sometimes we need to let go of abstract ideas like “productivity” when such concepts aren’t serving us. Sometimes we need to be kind to ourselves while being honest about what we need.

Is my hearing loss a reason to leave behind my writing and editing? Of course not. But seeing the results of my audiogram, and knowing how I’m struggling to hear someone standing right in front of me, has been a bummer, let me tell you. I had all these plans for the beginning of 2022 that I had to let go of because I wasn’t able to function at that pace at that time. I’m still working on getting myself back on track.

Recognizing When We Need To Cut Ourselves Some Slack

I realized that I needed time to process everything. I put The Duchess of Idaho and Copperfield aside for a few weeks. I went to bed early. I watched a lot of Netflix and played more than my fair share of Gummy Drop.

Yes, I spent time feeling sorry for myself, and I think that’s okay as long as we don’t linger in Sorryland too long. If you’re having trouble getting yourself out, seek professional help. Will I need professional help myself? Maybe. At the moment I feel better, but only time will tell. 

I put myself back to work slowly. At first, I gave myself an hour deadline each day and that was enough for a start. Baby steps. I wasn’t worried about how much I got done in that hour. As long as I worked that hour I was fine.

I began piecing together the Winter 2022 edition of Copperfield. I’ve reviewed my manuscript for The Duchess of Idaho to see what still needs doing. I’m writing this blog post when even this would have felt like too much a week ago.

I’m not talking about the work we have to do to pay our bills. That work we struggle through because we have to. I’m talking about all that extra stuff that we as creatives tend to pile on ourselves with our endless to-do lists. Yes, there’s always more we can do to improve ourselves as writers and marketers. But maybe right now my book sales aren’t the most important thing in the world for me.

Productivity is Great in Theory

Productivity tools are a great idea, and there are times when they can be useful. Still, there will be times when real life gets in the way.

Not everything can be planned ahead or scheduled. When we have to deal with those unlooked-for curveballs, we need to be honest about what we need. If putting your dreams of bigger book sales aside for a little while is useful, then you have permission to do that. In fact, you don’t need permission. You get to do whatever is right for you at that moment.

And then, when you’re ready, you’ll take baby steps to begin again.